


never had a cavity

by CertifiedDreamer



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Banter, Established Relationship, Excessive Hand-Holding, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Humor, M/M, Neil Josten is a Little Shit, POV Neil Josten, Post-Canon, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, a smidgen of foxes react bc i am WEAK, also some background renison, also some light swearing, i mean as soft as i can make them while still being mostly in character, it's so freaking tender guys, neil shrugs a lot in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:20:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25894306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CertifiedDreamer/pseuds/CertifiedDreamer
Summary: Neil shrugged. "I don't like sweet things." As an afterthought, he continued, "That's why I like Andrew, he's salty as fuck."—Or: the Foxes go to the fall carnival and shenanigans ensue. (Featuring: a concerning level of sugar intake, the usual amount of death threats, and one (1) stuffed animal)
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 26
Kudos: 372
Collections: AFTG Exchange Fall 2020





	never had a cavity

**Author's Note:**

> This work was written for neil-jortson on Tumblr!!
> 
> One of your prompts was 'Foxes go to a fall carnival' and that sounded so fun so I went with it! I actually wanted to post this earlier but then Inspiration possessed me and I added 500 more words,,oops
> 
> Also: content warning for Neil starting to panic a bit in the beginning, it doesn't evolve into a full-on panic attack though and is resolved quickly
> 
> The title is from Sweet Tooth by Cavetown (which is amazing btw)
> 
> Anyway, that should be about it,  
> enjoy!

The Palmetto fall carnival was abuzz with music and laughter, the sounds just as bright as the light emanating from the countless candles and fairy lights covering every possible inch. Combine this with the mouth-watering smells worming their way into his nose and Neil felt like his senses were being attacked from every which way.

He looked at the Foxes in front of him and tried to focus on their easy banter instead of the vast amount of people around him. Matt, Dan and Nicky had taken the lead, talking animatedly, with Renee and Allison trailing behind them. Arms linked in such a way that it was clear they’d done it before, they were talking quietly with matching, fond smiles on their faces. 

It worked for a little while, focusing on his family with Andrew by his side, their shoulders grazing every so often as they walked. But eventually it became too much. He hadn’t slept well last night, and the press of people around him was making him feel caged in, trapped. 

His breathing was starting to grow more erratic, muscles locking up and jaw tensing.

He startled at the brush of fingers against his lower back, but relaxed into the whisper of a touch as soon as he realized that it was just Andrew. Looking up at the man next to him, he tried—and failed—to smile reassuringly, mouth twisting into something resembling nothing but a grimace.

Andrew rolled his eyes, his expression making it clear that he saw right through Neil’s half-baked attempt at seeming fine, and stretched out his pinkie at him in a silent question. 

Neil nodded quickly. “Yes.” He felt the tension in his shoulders seep away when Andrew linked their pinkies together before turning away and swinging their hands between them almost unconsciously. Tucking his face into his shoulder to hide the smile forming on his lips, Neil let the gentle sway of their hands occupy his thoughts.

“Hey, Neil!”  


Neil looked up to see Matt waving him over excitedly from where he stood next to a target shooting stall that was half-heartedly decorated with pumpkins on either side of the counter and a string of fairy lights lighting up the prizes that were hanging on display above it. It only took a minute for Neil and Andrew to catch up and, from the second they were close enough, Matt started talking.  


“Are you up for a match, buddy?” He asked, grinning.

Neil shrugged. “Sure,” he said, not mentioning that he’d learned how to handle a gun when he was nine.

He walked up to Matt, who had already paid the stall keeper, and took one of the plastic guns he handed over.

Matt clapped Neil on the back. “Don’t feel too bad when you lose,” he said good-naturedly. “I’ve been doing this since I was, like, twelve.”

Dan hooked her chin over his shoulder. “I don’t know, babe. Neil does keep turning up with these weird skills. At this point I wouldn’t even be surprised if he turns out to be a sharpshooter.”

Matt gasped dramatically, putting a hand over his heart. “ _Babe_ , how could you?”

“Yeah,” Allison chipped in, “my money is definitely on Neil.”

Matt whipped towards her. “Et tu, Allison?”

Allison crossed her arms over her chest. “I haven’t lost a bet yet,” she replied impassively, “and I don’t plan on doing so anytime soon.”

“Friendship is a lie,” Matt said gravely.

“Don’t worry, Matt, I’ve got your back!” Nicky said, patting him on the shoulder in consolation. “What about you, Aaron, are you in?”

Aaron turned away from Katelyn reluctantly, glaring at Nicky, and curtly said, “Matt,” before immediately refocusing his attention on his girlfriend. Neil snorted. No matter how far the twins had come over the past few months, Aaron still despised him with every single inch of his being. Which were, admittedly, not that many inches.

“That’s settled then,” said Allison. She didn’t bother asking Andrew or Renee whether they wanted to participate in the bet; neither were inclined to do so very often. 

While Allison finalized the last details of the bet, Neil looked back at the stall. At the back, tiny cardboard cutouts of pumpkins were lined up, functioning as targets. Neil pointed the gun, vaguely registering Matt doing the same next to him, and took them out one by one with practiced ease until his were all gone. Somewhat smugly, he noticed Matt hadn’t managed to shoot half yet.

“Ha!” Allison held out her hands expectantly, triumphant look in her eyes. “Pay up, bitches!” She said, grinning wildly. Dan whooped and high fived her as Aaron and Nicky reluctantly handed over their money.

“I am never having his back again,“ Nicky muttered, looking forlornly at where Allison was divvying up the money between the winners. She handed half of her share to Renee, who shook her head and laughed softly, hair moving to and fro. “Why don’t we use it to get coffee together instead?” 

Allison smiled, a faint blush rising to the surface of her cheekbones. “Excellent idea.” She leaned over to brush away a lock of hair that had fallen in Renee’s face and whispered something in her ear. Renee laughed again, holding her hand before her mouth as her cheeks tinted pink as well.

Their interaction went unnoticed by most of the Foxes, however, as Matt exclaimed, “What the actual fuck, Neil!” In such a bewildered manner it almost made Neil feel bad. Almost. Matt really should have known better.

“Where did you learn that?” Matt asked.

Neil shrugged. "I just have to imagine the targets are all different versions of Riko." 

At the sudden silence of the group, Neil looked around to find them staring at him, all of them horrified except for Andrew, who looked like he was debating whether to push Neil off of a cliff or up against a wall and Aaron, who looked like he was leaning heavily towards the former. Neil scratched at the back of his head sheepishly. "Too soon?"

Surprisingly, Andrew was the one who broke the tension by muttering, “Idiot,” fondly—or at least what Neil chose to interpret as fondly.

Neil grinned and responded in a still somewhat wobbly Russian, “But I’m your idiot.”

When Andrew simply raised an eyebrow in response, Neil blew him a mocking kiss and pretended not to notice when his ears turned a peachy pink.

Someone cleared their throat and Neil startled; he’d been so caught up in Andrew he hadn’t even been paying attention to his surroundings. Years- hell, months ago, this realization would have been enough to send him panicking, but now he only felt annoyance at having to turn his gaze away from Andrew. He looked up to find the stall keeper staring at them in disinterest.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” the man drawled, in a tone that made it clear he had no qualms about doing just that, “but what prize would you like?”

Neil’s eyes roved over the array of fall themed prizes before landing on a large, cylinder shaped stuffed fox. “That one,” he said to the stall keeper, pointing at it.

When the man had handed over the stuffed animal, Neil let himself savour the soft feeling of the fox’s fur for a few seconds before turning around and holding it out to Andrew.

Andrew glared at it. “The fuck am I supposed to do with this?”

Neil shrugged. “Whatever you want. It’s yours now.”

Something flashed in Andrew’s eyes before he blinked it away. Grabbing the stuffed animal, he looked at it in disdain before tucking it under his arm nonetheless. Neil watched him with something like wonder, the image of Andrew in his all-black attire grumpily holding a stuffed animal making laughter bubble up in his throat.

One glance at Neil’s face was apparently enough for Andrew to narrow his eyes and start walking in the direction they’d been going earlier. “Stop staring and start moving, Josten,” he said without looking back, “or I’ll throw this fucking thing in the nearest trashcan along with your corpse.”

“Well wasn’t that cute,” Allison said drily.

Nicky laughed. “Yeah, are death threats like a normal occurrence in you guys’s relationship?”

Neil snorted. “I’d honestly be more concerned if there weren’t any.” With that, he left them to trail behind Andrew.

It was unanimously decided that they’d get something to drink next. They ended up at a stall selling fluffy clouds of cotton candy—a sunset orange instead of the usual pink—and slushies in a wide array of flavours. The Foxes each decided what they wanted before leaving Andrew and Renee, Andrew having handed the stuffed fox to Neil, at the stall to wait for their order and going to find an unoccupied bench. It was a routine similar to late nights at Eden’s, when the upperclassmen joined. 

Neil plopped down on the bench next to Kevin, carefully setting the stuffed fox down next to him. Allison, Matt, Dan and Nicky had situated themselves on the floor in front of the bench, sitting on their jackets. Aaron was nowhere to be found, and neither was Katelyn. Neil assumed they’d sneaked off somewhere together. He couldn’t say that he minded.

A gust of wind blew past, causing him to shiver and huddle in on himself, burying his hands in the pocket of the oversized, black hoodie he’d stolen from Andrew’s closet before they left. It was outrageously soft from countless washes; Neil wouldn’t be surprised to hear Andrew had had it for years. He curled even more in on himself and settled in to wait.

It took a good fifteen minutes for Andrew and Renee to appear, arms laden with drinks and Renee carrying a bag with cotton candy. While Renee delivered everyone’s orders and sat down next to Allison, Andrew traded places with the stuffed fox and transferred it to his lap instead.

Neil perked up at his arrival and immediately sidled up to him. Andrew indulged him, pressing even closer and letting Neil leech off his body warmth. He offered Neil his slushie—which consisted of layers upon layers of every possible flavor available and had presumably taken an eternity to make—so Neil leaned over without removing his hands from his pockets and took a sip. Immediately, he scrunched up his nose at the sweetness. He wiped his mouth as if to erase the taste.

“Why didn’t you get cotton candy?” He asked, genuinely curious; it wasn’t like Andrew to turn down anything that had copious amounts of sugar in it.

Andrew stared into the distance. “I don’t trust it,” he answered cryptically.

Neil snorted. “Why? Because it’s almost as large as you?”

Andrew shot him an unimpressed look but didn’t answer. Neil had the feeling that there was more behind it though. He was about to ask Andrew about it when he noticed that Andrew’s attention had been diverted to a stall advertising sweet fritters and apple beignets. Nudging Andrew with his elbow, he prompted, “Do you want to get something from there?”

Andrew had barely nodded when Kevin made an undignified noise from where he was sitting besides Neil. He started lecturing them about their diets, claiming that they’d already had way too much sugar for the day. “You _know_ we need to be on our best, Neil, especially with the freshmen! They’re still not nearly good enough and as their vice captain you should be setting an example, not-” 

Kevin was interrupted by an obnoxious slurping sound. Neil turned around to find Andrew draining the last dregs of his slushie. At Kevin's murderous glare, he looked up. 

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" Andrew said, tone flat but with a slight warning edge. 

Kevin clenched his jaw, and they held a staring contest for approximately thirty seconds—Neil’s gaze ping-ponging between them—before Kevin threw up his hands in exasperation. “Fine! _Fine_. But don’t come complaining to me when you can't keep up with cardio.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Andrew said, tilting his head sideways and petting the fox in his lap menacingly. “Neil will cover for me.”

Neil, who had been distracted by Andrew’s biceps, looked up at the sound of his name. He blinked owlishly. “Huh?”

Andrew sighed, looking up at the sky as if to pray to some god he didn't believe in for an ounce of patience. “Fucking useless,” he muttered. Getting up, he pushed the fox into Neil’s arms. “Stay,” he said, enunciating each letter slowly as if to make sure it got through to Neil.

Neil rolled his eyes. “You know,” he said pensively, “I kind of feel like we’re divorced parents co-parenting our child with how much we’re passing this thing between us.”

Andrew scoffed. “You? A parent? Gertrude wouldn’t survive a day.” With that, he turned on his heel to walk towards the stall, leaving Neil to stare at the stuffed fox in his lap, which Andrew had apparently dubbed Gertrude. Holding it up in the air to study it at another angle, Neil could see where Andrew was coming from.

When he got back to the Foxes, Andrew’s arms were loaded with treats. Neil watched as Andrew slowly made his way through the pile, picking out what to eat next methodically, as if there was a set order to follow. Whether there was a rhyme or reason to that order, Neil had yet to figure out.

“Andrew, is this really how I raised you?” Nicky said. “Sharing is caring, you know.”

“No, it’s fine.” Neil shrugged. "I don't like sweet things anyway." As an afterthought, he continued, "That's why I like Andrew, he's salty as fuck." Next to him, Andrew choked on his apple beignet.

After eating, Matt advocated to check out some of the rides, which everyone quickly agreed with. Neil, however, didn't think it was a very good idea to board in a cart that let you fall down a grueling drop after consuming the amount of sugar they had, or even in general. He knew that Andrew would hate it, and certainly not in the same way he ‘hated’ Neil. He also knew that Andrew would probably go with him if he went. They still weren’t comfortable being apart for long in crowded places, even over half a year after Baltimore.

“Hey, guys?” He called out to the Foxes, who had already started towards the nearest ride. “I think I’m going to sit out on this one.”

He waved away his teammates’ ‘Are you sure?’s and turned to Andrew. He tilted his head. “We could go on the ferris wheel instead?”

Andrew studied him. “I don’t need you fussing over me,” he remarked impassively.

Neil shrugged. “Maybe you don’t, but you’re getting it anyway.”

Andrew was quiet for a few seconds before muttering something that sounded a lot like ‘105 percent’ and heading back the way they came, towards the ferris wheel, assuming Neil would follow him. He was right; Neil would probably go just about anywhere Andrew went.

“Don’t defile public property, lovebirds!” Allison yelled after them, loud enough to attract a couple of disapproving glances.

Neil flipped her off over his shoulder in response and followed Andrew with the sound of his teammates' cackling in the background.

While waiting in the queue, they resumed talking about the possibilities of an underwater society—and, if it existed, how it would work—where they left off last time. 

Neil tilted his head and studied Andrew for a moment. “You know what? You’d look good with a tail.”

Andrew snorted. “Is this the part where you finally come clean about your kinks?”

“I don’t know, we already know about my fetish,” Neil said, leaning down to peck Andrew’s neck and grinning when he shivered, “maybe it’s your turn.”

Andrew pushed Neil’s face away. “We’re in public, Josten,” he said impassively. 

“So… no exhibition kink?” Neil asked faux-innocently.

Andrew narrowed his eyes. “I will throttle you,” he threatened.

“Ah.” Neil nodded sagely. “You’re into breath play. I see.” He was fighting down laughter now, shoulders quaking, and at Andrew’s put-out sigh, he finally cracked and broke out in hysterics, holding a hand over his mouth in a futile effort to calm down.

Andrew grabbed his wrist and pulled down his hand, “You are insufferable,” he said, the upturning of his mouth and the amusement in his eyes rebutting his statement.

At this point, twenty minutes had passed and they were at the front of the queue. A carriage freed up and Andrew handed over their tickets before hauling a still sniggering Neil into it by the waist.

Neil slumped down heavily onto the bench next to Andrew. Looking over at him, he noticed that Andrew was sitting so rigidly, right hand gripping the stuffed fox tenaciously, that Neil had to tilt his head back to look at him. He knew it would only get worse once they started moving.

“Hey,” he said softly, trying to get his attention.

Andrew turned towards him but he didn’t respond.

Neil gestured at the fox and smiled wryly. “I’m pretty sure you’re choking our child.”

Andrew huffed, rolling his eyes, and relinquished his hold on the fox minutely but tensed again when the ferris wheel started moving at last.

Neil wiggled his fingers. “Yes or no?”

At Andrew’s nod, he tugged his unoccupied hand into his lap, toying with his fingers idly before slotting his own in between. He slowly rested his head on Andrew's shoulder, giving him enough time to pull away, and nuzzled the crook of his neck. Suppressing a yawn, he pressed a kiss to the corner of his jaw before melting even more against his side. When Andrew squeezed his hand for a few seconds and moved their hands to rest on his chest, Neil didn’t bother stopping a smile from spreading on his lips.

For the past few months, they had been slowly but surely navigating the bounds of their relationship. Along the way, they’d discovered that there was non-sexual intimacy as well, that maybe there always had been. And maybe that was a thing they could let themselves enjoy.

“This is disgustingly romantic,” Andrew piped up beside him. Neil could feel the vibrations of his voice rumbling through his chest where their hands lay entwined.

He snorted. “Don’t pretend you’d rather be puking your guts out on one of those fast rides,” he teased.

“It’d beat having to put up with you.”

Neil grinned up at him. “You like me,” he said, all smug confidence he didn’t have a few months ago.

“I hate you,” Andrew replied automatically, tilting his head sideways to peck Neil's forehead. 

Neil hummed, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked over Andrew’s shoulder to find that they’d reached the top of the ferris wheel. The sun was setting over the city, disappearing beneath the horizon. It seemed to light everything on fire.

Neil was out of his seat before he realized it, heading for the edge before he was yanked back, landing in Andrew’s lap with a muted ‘oof’.

“Do you _want_ to die?” Andrew hissed. He looked incredulous, eyes widened ever so slightly.

Neil shrugged, unbothered. “I thought you said being scared to die was boring?” He retaliated, thinking about what Andrew had said the first time they’d met, knowing he hated it when his own words were thrown back at him.

When Andrew simply glared, Neil patted his cheek consolingly. “You know, the odds of getting seriously injured on a ferris wheel are only one in nine million, so you’ll probably be fine unless you have some really bad luck.” 

“Guess I’ll die then,” Andrew deadpanned. 

“Elaborate.” 

“I met you,” Andrew said pointedly. 

“That’s fair.” Neil paused. “I stepped right into that, didn’t I,” he said, resigned. They let the moments pass by in comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other’s presence. It reminded Neil of countless nights spent on the rooftop.

“Hey, Andrew?” He said.

“No.”

Neil smiled. “Your eyes look like honey.”

Andrew’s ears reddened. “Shut up.”

“Okay,” Neil said easily, leaning his head on Andrew’s shoulder again. He was perfectly fine spending the rest of the evening like this: just him, Andrew, and a stuffed fox.

**Author's Note:**

> Can you tell that my only knowledge on how to shoot a gun comes from skimming an article on wikihow while editing this?
> 
> Anyway, this was actually my first time working with a prompt and I did struggle (...a lot), but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! The whole ferris wheel scene is by far my favorite, I enjoyed writing it so much  
>   
> But yeah, I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment/some kudos if you feel like it! I'd love to hear your thoughts :)


End file.
